Florence Eid-Oakden Profile

Dr. Eid-Oakden is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Economist of the Arabic Monitor, a leading research and strategy firm specializing in the Middle East.

Equipped with extensive global experience in the financial world, Dr. Eid-Oakden is the former Head of MENA research at JP Morgan and has also held positions at the World Bank in Latin America and North Africa.

Known for her ability to translate complex events into a flowing narrative, Dr. Eid-Oakden is consistently nominated the best speaker of the session or conference.

One of the Arab world’s most highly regarded economists, Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Economist of the Arab Monitor, a leading research and strategy firm. Dr. Eid-Oakden helps companies understand the trends, events, and forces shaping MENA countries, so that organizations can calculate risks and tap into the rich opportunities hidden throughout the region’s diverse nations.

Known for her ability to translate complex events into a flowing narrative, Dr. Eid-Oakden is consistently nominated the best speaker of the session/conference. In addition to speaking to audiences around the world, she has been a professor of economics and finance at the American University of Beirut and a visiting professor at INSEAD and HEC Paris. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Prior to founding the Arab Monitor, Dr. Eid-Oakden was the Head of MENA research at JP Morgan. She held positions at the World Bank’s regional offices in Latin America and North Africa. She earned her Ph.D. in Organization Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a joint Harvard-MIT doctoral committee.

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Florence Eid-Oakden Speaking Videos

Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, Economic Keynote Speaker: Speech

Economist and global affairs keynote speaker, Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden explains the dissonance between the Middle East's bustling technological development and the negative headlines that frame a region in turmoil. Offering an insider's perspective to the political changes set off by "Arab Spring," she sheds lights on the exceptional opportunities unfolding in these countries that the media never talks about, pointing out that there are many reasons that businesses continue to take an interest in the Middle East.

"The bulk of what you hear in the headlines is not so exceptional," she comments, drawing parallels between recent events in the Middle East and those that occurred in Latin America and Asia decades earlier when those regions underwent similar transformations.

While it has long been associated with oil, Dr. Eid-Oakden points out that today MENA's potential and growth goes far beyond petroleum. "This is a 300-million new emerging market that is resourced not just in oil and gas, but in human resources, the bulk of which are really very much looking toward a better time, and the very tiny minority of which are involved in the bad headlines you hear in the evening news."

Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, Economic Keynote Speaker: Panel

Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, Economic Keynote Speaker: Speech

Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, Economic Keynote Speaker: Panel

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Florence Eid-Oakden's Speech Descriptions

Founder of one of the world’s leading research and strategy firms focused on the Middle East, Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden goes past the headlines, uncovering the massive opportunities that are hidden beneath. The experienced economist walks audiences through a holistic tour of the events and trends shaping the region, explaining how companies can benefit from the emerging markets and numerous developments that the media never mentions.

• The Middle East Today: What is exceptional and what isn’t?
• Risks and opportunities of doing business in the Middle East
• The low oil price environment: A rite of passage toward more responsive economic management in the GCC?
• Iran’s return to global markets will present regional economic challenges and opportunities. What about its politics?
• China’s New Silk Road will transform trade and investment patterns. Who benefits most?
• Islamic finance, a perfect fit for infrastructure investment in the region?
• Suffering from the highest rate of youth unemployment worldwide, could entrepreneurship become a game-changer for MENA labour markets?
• How are markets adjusting to and accommodating lower oil prices? Has there been a cyclical pick-up in other commodity prices?
• Assessing the impact of Iran on regional geopolitical trends, what are the implications of the Trump presidency for the Iran nuclear deal?
• Are we witnessing a resurgence in Sino-MENA relations? What of relations with India as a major trading partner?
• Changing Economic Foundations in the GCC -- What Will the Next Ten Years Bring?
• How can central banks suppress volatility? What will the consequences be for increased rates? What are the implications of continued unconventional monetary policies by central banks for Europe? What will the outlook be for debt markets investors with continued Eurozone malaise?
• The Arab Spring Six Years On: Progress or Regress?
• Economics in a Turbulent World: How Will Developments in Energy Markets, The Rise of China, Economic Reform in KSA and Iranian Regional Ambitions Play Out.
• Private Equity in African and the Middle East: Driving Africa’s Economic Transformation
• Arab Societies and the Winds of Change: New Dynamics and Perspectives or a Step Back?
• Economics, Trade and Business: New Challenges, new horizons for MENA
• Entrepreneurial Finance: What it Means for MENA
• Beyond the headlines: MENA opportunities emerge
• Markets 160 million strong: Parsing through the volatility
• The New Maghreb: Business Opportunities in North Africa